Chappaqua's CSEA Union Agrees to 2-Year Deal

The Chappaqua school district and the local Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union have reached a new, 2-year contract, the district announced Tuesday night.

The deal was approved by the school board at its Tuesday meeting and was previously ratified by the CSEA, a union that covers maintenance and custodial staff in the district.

The contract will run for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years. It calls for average salary increases of 1.7 percent for each year and freezes on step increases. Health insurance premium rates will rise from 10.5 percent currently, to 11.75 percent for the 2013-14 school year, to 13 percent in 2014-15.

The deal calls for stipend increases of 1 percent for 2013-14 and 1.5 percent in 2014-15.

"This agreement is the result of thoughtful and cooperative negotiations with the CSEA leadership, and demonstrates a balance of shared sacrifice with fairness and respect," Superintendent Lyn McKay said in a press release. "Our CSEA members are professionals, and we truly appreciate all of their hard work on a daily basis that goes into making our district a better place."

The new deal represents of savings of about $80,000 because had no deal been reached the terms of the old agreement would have stayed in place, according to New York State's Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law. In a Triborough scenario, this would have included salary hikes of 2.42 percent each year.

The CSEA deal is the third new union contract in less than two months. In late February, the district reached a , the Chappaqua Congress of Teachers. Last month, the district reached a 2-year deal with the adminitrators' union, the Chappaqua Administrators' Association. All three union contracts will expire at the end of the 2014-15 school year.